


The End is All I Can See

by quetzalaten



Category: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Non-Canon Relationship, Not Canon Compliant, Period-Typical Racism, Violence, implied sexy stuff at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28239486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quetzalaten/pseuds/quetzalaten
Summary: Quetzalcoatl goes to collect an artifact, and ends up needing a little help.
Relationships: Aten/Quetzalcoatl (Nicholas Flamel)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	The End is All I Can See

**Author's Note:**

> This is my headcanon for how Billy became immortal. It is definitely not 100% canon compliant though.
> 
> Thank you to JK in the SINF Discord server for always chatting with me about our Q&A headcanons.

_It’s just one day,_ Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, told himself as he exited his Shadowrealm. _You can be among the Humani for one day without causing a scene._

He had heard that a certain person in the area that some of the humans called the United States had gotten their hands on an artifact that belonged to the Nahua people that had worshipped Quetzalcoatl as a god. They had given it to the Elder when he had come to meet with them one day, many years ago, but it had been lost during one of the humans’ battles with one another. Humans did love to squabble, which was one of the things about them that Quetzalcoatl found particularly entertaining. But now, one of the European settlers on the land had apparently found the artifact during an excavation. Quetzalcoatl intended to take the artifact back, in whatever way was necessary. But when he had mentioned his plan to Aten in their monthly correspondence (letters that were delivered by an unfortunate immortal servant that Quetzalcoatl enjoyed giving tiring tasks to), the other Elder had suggested that he try diplomacy first. “ _Fine_ ,” the Serpent had replied, “ _I suppose I could_ _attempt to negotiate with the pitiful fool_ _before ripping them to pieces.”_ Thinking back to the last letter he had received back from Aten, Quetzalcoatl sighed. “ _Please come home soon, I miss you._ ” the Sun Disk had written at the end of the parchment. The two of them had not seen each other for a few centuries now, and it did feel lonely. Perhaps Quetzalcoatl would pay the other Elder a visit... someday. But first he had a job to do.

So here he was, going to a small town in New Mexico to try to buy back something that rightfully belonged to him already. He just hoped that he had done a good enough job hiding his tail.

Quetzalcoatl made his way to the saloon where he had arranged to meet with the thief. He slide into a booth near the door, so that he could quickly make an escape if the deal went badly. The Elder wondered if he would have to buy a drink in order to blend in with the mortals that he was surrounded by. Before he had the chance to decide, the door swung open and a small group of men walked in. When they noticed Quetzalcoatl sitting quietly by himself, one of the men approached the Serpent. “I reckon you’re the one that wants to talk to me? Didn’t know I’d be dealing with an Indian.” he drawled, his accent thick and pronounced. Quetzalcoatl forced a smile, which looked more like a grimace to those watching, and attempted to be cordial while hiding his disgust for the man, “ _Pialli_ _. i_ Did you bring the item that we discussed?” _Please give me an excuse to tear you apart_ , the Elder thought to himself. The man sat down opposite Quetzalcoatl. “Well, I suppose that depends on how much you are willing to pay for it, now doesn’t it?” _H_ _e is going to be difficult,_ _isn’t he?_ The Feathered Serpent silently placed a bag on the table. The man opened the bag, smirked, and then shoved it back towards Quetzalcoatl. “I’ll tell you what,” he said, “If you can get me twice what is in that bag, I will consider selling the artifact. You clearly want it for some reason, and you seem quite desperate, so I am sure that it won’t be a problem?” Struggling to keep his composure, the Serpent replied to the man through gritted teeth, “That is not what we agreed on.” Quetzalcoatl was starting to feel uneasy about this whole situation. _Damn you, Aten, I knew this wasn’t going to go well_. The other men began to close in around him. The leader chuckled menacingly, “Listen here, you bitch, _I_ make the rules around here. If I say you owe me money, _you_ go get it for me.”

The Feathered Serpent hissed, standing up from the table. “What did you just call me?” he growled. “Ooh,” the man drawled, “you think you’re tough or something now?” Quetzalcoatl bared his teeth, “You should stop talking, or you will find me to be quite unpleasant to deal with.” The man laughed, “Is that what you tell your kids when they misbehave? Your poor family.” The Serpent’s eyes widened in anger, and he considered whether or not he should kill the man right there. “How dare you talk to me about family, when your people have taken everything from mine?” he snarled, “You are thieves, and invaders, and you have no right to hold this object in your possession.” Quetzalcoatl’s claws scraped against the wooden table. One of the other men noticed, and his eyes widened in shock. The leader of the men, however, continued to taunt the Elder. “You stupid, lazy bastards always think you can tell me what to do. Well guess what? The deal is off, you can kiss your damned precious artwork goodbye.” At that, Quetzalcoatl let out a roar, and threw the table at the man. “Jesus Christ!” one of the men swore, “How the hell did you lift that?” The Serpent grabbed on to the man’s shoulders. “Trust me, none of your gods can save you now. Save your prayers for Mictlāntēcutli.”ii With that, Quetzalcoatl ripped the man apart by the arms. “Oh, and say hello to my brotheriii for me. It’s been a while since we’ve talked.” The remaining men stared in horror. The other patrons realized that what was happening, and cleared the area. Quetzalcoatl laughed, a raspy sound that grated against the humans’ heads. “I am honestly very glad that you have given me a reason to do this,” he said, “I don’t like honouring deals with treacherous men.” The Elder swept through the gang, tearing them apart, slashing at their flesh with his claws. Blood splattered the walls, and the floor became crowded by the dismembered bodies of the dead men. When Quetzalcoatl got to the leader of the group, he paused for a moment. “Do you understand what you have done wrong, little boy?” the Serpent hissed, “Grovel. Let me hear a reason to allow you to live.” With sobs of grief and fear, the man pleaded with the Elder to spare his life. Quetzalcoatl glared down at the man. “You make a good case. Unfortunately, you have angered someone who does not accept apologies from the robbers of sacred places. When you desecrated my temples, you lost your right to amnesty.”

The Feathered Serpent hissed at the man again, his sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the room. He grabbed the man by the neck, lifting him off the ground. The man struggled against the Elder’s grasp. “Please...” he spluttered. Quetzalcoatl took a _tecpatl iv_ from where it was kept sheathed by his side, stabbed the man, and threw him through the wall of the saloon. The Serpent began to relax, and picked up the artifact from where it was sitting under the table.

A sudden burst of agony stopped the Elder in his tracks. He looked down to see a red stain seeping through his white _tilma_ _h_ _tl_ _i_.v One of the men had somehow made it past the Serpent’s rampage, and was shakily pointing a now-smoking gun at Quetzalcoatl’s chest, a gun that had just fired a bullet into the Elder’s nearly-invincible skin. _That shouldn’t have happened,_ Quetzalcoatl thought, _A mortal weapon couldn’t harm me._ But the increasing amount of blood that was soaking his clothing seemed to indicate otherwise. The Feathered Serpent snarled at the man with the gun, causing him to drop his weapon and start to run.

_BAM._ The man fell to the ground with a gasp as a bullet hit him in the back. Quetzalcoatl turned around to see where the shot had come from, and laid his eyes on a very young man sitting in the corner booth. He got up and started towards the door, gesturing for the Elder to follow him. “ _Hola_ , my name’s Billy,” the man said quickly, “and we gotta go!” Billy stopped when he realized that Quetzalcoatl wasn’t following him. “Well, come on,” he drawled, “Can’t stay here now, the sheriff will be comin’ ‘round any minute now thanks to that display you just put on.” Quetzalcoatl took a step towards him, but his legs gave out underneath him. “ _Mokuitl,_ ”vi he swore. The room was starting to look blurry. _Why does it hurt so much?_ Quetzalcoatl thought, _The only thing that could hurt me like this is iron_ _and_... _oh._ He realized that it must be one of those steel-plated bullets that some of his newer immortal servants like to use. Before he knew what was happening, the Serpent felt a strong arm around him. “Holy shit, that’s a lot of blood!” the young man exclaimed. Billy half-led, half-carried Quetzalcoatl out of the saloon, and hurried out of the town. The Elder couldn’t tell how far they had gone, but eventually he realized that they had stopped in a small cave somewhere in the desert. Billy helped Quetzalcoatl lay down on the cave floor, and started to assess the damage. The outlaw began to remove the Elder’s _tilmahtli_ , but Quetzalcoatl grabbed his arm. “Wait!” he gasped, “Don’t...” Billy hesitated for a moment, “I can’t help you if I can’t get near the wound.” Reluctantly, the Elder relinquished his grasp on the young man’s arm. Billy carefully peeled the cloth away from the injured area. He stopped when he saw the Serpent’s chest, but quickly resumed his assessment of the bullet wound. “I ain’t gonna judge anyone by what scars they’ve got, _s_ _e_ _ñ_ _or_ ,” the outlaw said with a shrug, “I’ve got plenty of scars myself. Trust me.” Quetzalcoatl grimaced, but visibly relaxed. Billy took that as a good sign, and started prodding the Elder’s injury. “You need to remove the bullet,” hissed Quetzalcoatl, “It is... important that you remove the bullet by any means necessary. If you can get the bullet out, I can heal.” Billy tilted his head to the side, “Well, it might not be pleasant for ya, but I’ve got a knife in my bag that I could try using to cut the bullet loose?” With a shudder, the Elder nodded his consent to the young man. Quetzalcoatl closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady as Billy began to work away at the wound. This was going to be a rather uncomfortable night.

***

As the night went on, Quetzalcoatl became more agitated. Billy, who was beginning to believe that the man was not going to last the night, gave him a worried glance. The Elder was losing focus, and muttering randomly about whatever seemed to pop into his head. Every breath felt like a shard of glass was being pushed into his body. He yelped as Billy’s knife finally made contact with the bullet. “Calm down, stay with me,” the outlaw muttered, carefully manoeuvring the knife around the bullet wound. Quetzalcoatl gasped, staring at something that only he could see. “ _Ca tinotonalecapo,_ ” he cried out suddenly, “Aten... I should have told you everything, I never got to tell you anything... _Ma Xipahtinemi_ , my love...”vii The Elder’s breaths were getting shorter and shorter. “Hey now, don’t talk like that, _amigo._ I’m gonna get you through this...” Billy grabbed on to Quetzalcoatl’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “You are gonna be okay, trust me.” The Feathered Serpent clung to the outlaw’s hand like a lifeline, trying to concentrate on the sound of the younger man’s voice. He felt like he was burning away, his aura working hard to keep him alive. “I never even said ‘I love you,’” Quetzalcoatl whispered as a blood-red tearviii slid down his cheek, “thousands of years together, and I never once told him that I loved him.” Billy pursed his lips, looking as though he was trying to hold back tears as well. He carefully wiped the tear from Quetzalcoatl’s face, and then went back to working on the bullet wound. Shocked by the gesture, Quetzalcoatl stared at the young man for a moment. “Why are you helping me?” he finally asked. Billy shrugged, not looking up from the Elder’s injury, “Well, I might have been listening in to your conversation, and I heard the way they were talkin’ to you. I’m not too fond of bullies.” The outlaw grimaced as he began pulling the bullet out of the wound, “Plus, I’ve met that gang before, not a pleasant group of people.” Quetzalcoatl nodded slowly, then winced from the pain of his injury. _If this goes on any longer_ _I’m going to be sick_ , he thought, breathing shallowly, _I_ _hope he is almost done,_ _I don’t think_ _I can take much more of this_ _._ The Elder stifled a scream as Billy finally managed to rip the bullet from his flesh. Then, immediately, Quetzalcoatl fainted, Billy’s shouting becoming distant as his vision went dark.

***

When the sun rose the next morning, Quetzalcoatl awoke in a panic. He felt his chest, where the bullet had entered his body, and found only a scar where short hours ago there had been a devastating wound. For a moment he relaxed, until he remembered the events of the night before. The Elder looked around the cave, and saw Billy sleeping against the wall. There was something about the energy of the young man that reminded him of... no, he had never been that foolish. Quetzalcoatl thought about the things that he told Billy that night, about him, about his fallen home, about... oh no. The Serpent groaned. He hadn’t even told Aten many of the things that he had rambled about to the outlaw during the night. _You need to kill him_ , Quetzalcoatl thought, _you can’t allow someone who knows so much about you to run around telling people that he met a feathered monster._ _Or anything else that he knows, for that matter._ He started towards the outlaw, taking his obsidian _tecpatl_ from where it was sheathed at his side.

But as he prepared to strike, he thought of how the boy had risked himself to save the life of someone that he didn’t know. “So naive and impulsive,” muttered the Elder, “to not think of his own safety first.” _But wouldn’t you have thought the same way, once?_ Quetzalcoatl studied Billy’s face. He looked so young, probably no more than 18 years old, 19 at the most. “Poor boy,” the Serpent whispered, his tail sweeping across the ground behind him, “You humans are cursed with lives that are so insignificant, so fleeting. It isn’t quite fair that such an... interesting creature should suffer the same fate as the rest.” Crouching down, Quetzalcoatl took Billy’s face gently in his hands. A silvery-white radiance emanated from his palms,ix and spread through the outlaw’s body. A flaming red glow flared like wildfire from the young man’s body, surrounding him with an aureola of light. Quetzalcoatl squinted his eyes shut against the sheer brightness of the aura, hissing as the light burned his eyelids. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the light faded back into the darkness of the cave. Nothing seemed different, but Quetzalcoatl knew that he had just changed Billy’s entire destiny. It wasn’t rare for the Elder to bestow immortality upon humans, and the younger man had just saved Quetzalcoatl’s life. “Plus he will be indebted to you now,” the Serpent muttered, _but that isn’t why you did it, was it?_

Brushing off the thought, Quetzalcoatl stood up slowly and took another look at the outlaw, who had not woken up from his sleep. “Hmph,” the Elder grunted, “perhaps it is for the best that he doesn’t find out what I have done until he gets himself into trouble. Otherwise he may not survive for long, even with the gift of immortality.” Sitting back down on the floor of the cave, the Feathered Serpent got a good look at the artifact that he had gone through so much inconvenience to acquire. He brushed his fingers against the familiar carving, letting himself slip into his memories of a time that he could never return to. Everything had seemed so much easier back then. He had taken that time for granted, and now, after the events of the last day, there might be some things that the Elder needed to do in case he wasn’t as lucky the next time he got in a fight. As he was contemplating this, Billy yawned. The sound snapped Quetzalcoatl back to the present day. The outlaw was groggily stretching his arms, “Hey, you’re up! Thank goodness!” He jumped up excitedly and rushed over to the Elder. “I wasn’t sure that you were gonna wake up,” the young man said, “I’m glad you are okay! I would’ve felt bad if I had killed you with my terrible attempt at healing.” He looked Quetzalcoatl up and down. “So, I’m sure that you know this already, but you have, um, a tail. And very sharp teeth.” The Elder narrowed his eyes, wondering how to respond. But Billy continued talking without waiting for an answer. Quetzalcoatl was beginning to think that the boy never _stopped_ talking. _How does he have time to breathe?_

“By the way,” the outlaw began, a grin spreading across his face, “who’s Aten?” Quetzalcoatl’s face flushed, and he glared at the young man. “You had better not speak a word of what I have said to you to anyone, understand?” he snarled. Billy shrugged, “Suit yourself. But if I were to judge you based on what you said last night, you two have some serious issues to sort out. Not to be abrupt, but maybe you should go see him? You were awfully distraught at the thought of...” The Elder hissed, which made Billy quickly shut his mouth. _Finally_ , the Serpent thought. Silently, Quetzalcoatl stared at the boy, deciding what to do next. “So,” he said slowly, “do you feel any... different?” Billy blinked once, “Should I? You are the one who almost died last night!” Quetzalcoatl shook his head, “No, no. It is nothing.” _He will realize soon enough._

Later that day, the two men parted ways. Quetzalcoatl wondered how long it would take Billy to find himself in a situation that activated his aura. Judging by the way he acted, the Elder guessed that it wouldn’t take too long.

***

A week after his unfortunate encounter in New Mexico, the Feathered Serpent was facing an even bigger challenge. He would never admit it to the now-immortal Billy the Kid, but he was taking the young outlaw’s advice and attempting a visit to the home of Aten, the Sun Disk. Quetzalcoatl hesitated at the door. _What if he hates me?_ the Elder thought, _what if, after all this time, he has realized_ _that being close to me was a mistake?_ Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. After a couple of seconds, the door was opened by a girl who bore a striking resemblance to Aten. She narrowed her eyes when she saw who was on the doorstep.

“Hello my dear, is your father home?” whispered the Serpent. The girl glared at him for a moment. “Wadjet?x Is everything okay?” the Elder asked nervously. “You broke his heart when you left,” the girl said at last, “He has been so terribly sad lately, he hardly speaks to us.” Quetzalcoatl flinched. Her words felt like a dagger to his heart. “I... I thought that you would all be happier without me here, after... after Tutankhamen...” he began, but Wadjet abruptly cut him off. “I am not the one that you need to apologize to. My father is in the lounge.” She turned to let him in, then put an arm out to stop him, “But don’t you dare hurt him again, or nothing will be able to protect you from me.” Nodding, Quetzalcoatl hurried through the door, his tail swishing back and forth. He found Aten right where Wadjet said he would be. He looked up when he heard the Serpent enter, his eyes widening in shock. “You... you came back,” the Sun Disk said. Quetzalcoatl could hear the anguish in his own voice when he answered, “I didn’t think that you would want to see me...” Before the Serpent could say anything else, Aten had strode across the room and enveloped him in an embrace. Quetzalcoatl felt tears rising in his eyes. He closed them and let himself sink into Aten’s arms. “Oh Quetzalcoatl, there has never been a time when I did not want to see you,” Aten whispered into the other Elder’s ear. The Serpent smiled, and looked up at the Sun Disk. “There is something that I have been meaning to tell you,” he said, “and it has never felt like the right time... I am not the best at expressing my thoughts to people...” Aten kissed the Serpent tenderly. “You don’t need to speak the words out loud for me to know how you feel.” Quetzalcoatl returned the kiss, hungrily pressing his lips against Aten’s. “I love you,” he said, “I’ve loved you for as long as I have known you, and I never want to leave you again.” The two Elders tangled together as Aten pulled the Serpent onto the couch with him. “And I,” said the Sun Disk, “will love you for the rest of eternity.” With that, he kissed Quetzalcoatl again, this time on the neck. Quetzalcoatl hissed and pulled Aten closer. The other Elder smiled and repeated the gesture, eliciting a soft moan from the Feathered Serpent.

“You know, you may want to stop letting Wadjet answer the door,” Quetzalcoatl said, breaking away from the other Elder’s embrace for a moment, “She is not the most welcoming person.” Aten laughed, placing one of his hands on the side of Quetzalcoatl’s face, “She takes after you, my dear.”

***

Endnotes

_i Pialli _is a way of greeting someone in Nahuatl. Disclaimer, I am not a Nahuatl speaker, but as an Indigenous person myself I felt it important to try my best to incorporate Q’s native language into this fic. Please correct me if I made any mistakes!

ii Mictlāntēcutli is the Nahua god of the underworld.

iii Xolotl is considered a guide for dead souls in Nahua mythology.

iv A _tecpatl_ was a double-edged knife used by Nahua warriors for combat and human sacrifice.

v A _tilma_ _h_ _tl_ _i_ is a type of cloak that was worn by Nahua men.

_vi Mokuitl_ is an equivalent of the English curse word “shit.” Disclaimer, I am not a Nahuatl speaker, but as an Indigenous person myself I felt it important to try my best to incorporate Q’s native language into this fic. Please correct me if I made any mistakes!

vii _Ca tinotonalecapo_ means “you are my sun,” and was used to describe two very close friends. _Ma Xipahtinemi_ means “be well.” Disclaimer, I am not a Nahuatl speaker, but as an Indigenous person myself I felt it important to try my best to incorporate Q’s native language into this fic. Please correct me if I made any mistakes!

viii Q never cries in canon, so I decided to give him the same tears of blood that Scathach has, since they are related.

ix Q’s aura colour is never mentioned in canon, so I took the liberty of choosing one. Thank you to JK in the SINF Discord server for giving me the idea of Q and Xolotl being gold/silver twins!

x Since we don’t get much information about Aten’s children from SINF canon, I am assuming that he has the same children as the historical Akhenaten did. Because these children would all be Next Generation, I wrote the Egyptian goddess Wadjet in as one of the daughter’s of Aten (thanks again to JK for discussing different options for the children with me).

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my very first SINF fic that I have ever published, so I am excited to share it with everyone!


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